The twists are mine, the characterizations are mine if it doesn't follow the books either Scarlett or Gone With the Wind I'm not Ripley or Mitchell. I write from me, from my experiences and pains. If the story starts to take turns that seem contrived, don't be so sure. We all lead lives that would make an exciting read if we could only let people in. Fan fiction is my way of letting people into my secret self.

Scarlett blushed to the roots of her hair. "I'm sorry to have woken you," she apologized.

"No matter," she replied pleasantly, 'I don't sleep very soundly so I was already nearly awake."

"Do you have bad dreams too?" Scarlett asked, curious about the woman she admired and acquainted in her mind with Ellen and Melanie.

"No, nothing like that. But you see when we still lived at the Landing it always seemed that not a night went by without some sort of emergency that required the mistress of the plantation. Now I find that this house is too quiet and I wait for the knocks that no longer come, it makes you feel quite unnecessary to no longer be in such demand."

"I need you," said Scarlett shyly.

She patted Scarlett's hand fondly. "God bless you my dear, I need you too. I'm so glad that Rhett has you. It makes me happy to know that he's happy."

Toby wriggled to be free and Scarlett released him. The puppy jumped off the bed and began to investigate the dark corners of Scarlett's room not illuminated by the moonlight.

Thoughts of women Rhett might have bedded while he wanted a divorce haunted her thoughts. She was sure he loved her, but the part of her that was the eternal pessimist tried to undo the progress they had made only a few hours ago. "Sometimes I'm not certain that he's happy, at least not happy with me."

Miss Eleanor laughed gaily. "Not happy with you? Why Scarlett, my son had mentioned you so many times that I wondered how on earth he let you slip through his grasp to marry your second husband."

"Rhett told you about me? When?"

Miss Eleanor leaned back a little into Scarlett's pillows as she draped an arm around Scarlett's shoulder so that the younger woman could lean her head on Miss Eleanor's shoulder. She could see that Scarlett was still visibly shaken by her nightmare and though she didn't wish to pry she was curious what Rhett had to do with the dream for Scarlett hadn't woken and called for Rhett, she had been calling for him in her dream.

"Miss Eleanor?" asked Scarlett eager to hear about how Rhett had mentioned her to his beloved mother. If that wasn't something a man in love did, then what was?

Miss Eleanor sighed softly remembering the times she had to steal away to see her eldest child because her husband wouldn't allow her to acknowledge Rhett's existence.

"Oh, when I'd slip away to see him while he was blockading during the war. The first few times it was only vague mentions, not by name, but he did mention that he hated the mourning black widows wore because a woman he knew had eyes would look even more brilliant than they already were if she were wearing green or even white." Miss Eleanor laughed gently.

"Later I suppose my rascal of a son must have talked you out of mourning early because he mentioned that he had bought some lengths of green satin and green linen for dresses. I told him that him that he wouldn't make much money on dress lengths, but he told me they weren't for sale at any price, they were a gift." Miss Eleanor smiled kindly, "He is right my dear, you do look beautiful in green."

"I never knew that he spoke of me to you," said Scarlett her voice soft with a hint of regret.

"Rhett's a smart man. He neglected to give you a name because I'm a friend of your aunts and no doubt he knew that I'd deduce that Pauline and Eulaine's niece, Scarlett, who lived in Georgia was also the Scarlett he was so enamored of. After all Scarlett's not a terribly common name and a Scarlett with emerald eyes must certainly be even more rare."

"Rhett keeps his cards close to his vest. When did he finally give me a name?"

Miss Eleanor thought briefly, her son and his wife were both too proud for their own good. If she told Scarlett about Rhett's feelings toward her over the years, would it help or hurt them even more. She pushed past that nagging worry, she would do what she felt was necessary bring them to equal footing.

"I feel as though I'm betraying a confidence but I am going to, for Rhett's own good, and yours as well. Rhett finally gave you a name when he came to visit after his father died. He was distracted and at first I thought it was simply because Stephen died without them ever making peace, but it wasn't that. Not at all. It was because someone, a woman named Scarlett was carrying another man's child. Rhett apologized for not coming sooner but he couldn't leave Atlanta till she was confined to her home. He needed to drive her home from the lumber mill she owned. He told me one night that he was worried about her, that he had let her down once before and that's why she was in the situation she was in."

"Oh," was all Scarlett could say as she felt a wave of embarrassment course through her, staining her cheeks crimson with shame. Of course Miss Eleanor knew about her owning the mills and the store, Scarlett hadn't ever even suspected that Miss Eleanor had known that before she married Rhett she had overseen the running of the mills throughout much of her second pregnancy.

"Oh indeed. I admit I was briefly confused as too how this Scarlett had come to mean so much to him so quickly but then I recalled the woman he had spoken of during the war and realized it was the same person. I asked my son if this woman was a close friend of his and he said no, she was a disease in his blood. He told me bits and pieces which, knowing Rhett as I do I've pieced together what I believe is a fairly accurate perception of the whole story. Rhett has loved you for a good deal longer than you've loved him?"

Realizing it wasn't a rhetorical question Scarlett was tempted to refrain from answering but didn't. "Yes."

"Why did he come here with Bonnie but not you and your other children? It was obvious that he missed you, they both did. " She held up a warning finger, "And don't tell me it was because of your store or your mills. I'm Rhett's mother and I've come to know you, there was something going on, but I could never come to a feasible conclusion."

It was Scarlett's turn to consider her next words. Miss Eleanor seemed to know about most of the decidedly unladylike things she'd done since the end of the war, in all honesty what were a few more skeletons when taken into account against her numerous other misdeeds. "Because he was angry at me over the one time I was completely innocent of wrongdoing."

"Did you have an affair?"

Scarlett pulled away from Miss Eleanor in horror. Did her mother in law think she was little more than an adulteress? "My God, no, never."

Miss Eleanor was nonplussed by Scarlett's horrified exclamation. She spoke casually, looking for a response that would confirm her belief that Scarlett hadn't physically been unfaithful to her son. "That's good to know, I'd heard some piece of gossip about a man in Atlanta that was your business partner, a cousin of the Burrs I believe?" Miss Eleanor said pointedly. She needed Scarlett to be completely honest if she was to help repair the situation between her headstrong daughter in law and her equally stubborn son.

Scarlett's horror dissipated considerably to be replaced by painful shame. "Ashley. My business partner's name is Ashley Wilkes. He was my sister in law's husband, we grew up together." She had never actually gone so far as to become Ashley's mistress but surely in Miss Eleanor's eyes the way she had carried on would be just as bad.

Miss Eleanor nodded thinking to herself, a childhood sweetheart held onto far too long after childhood ended.. "You loved him?"

There was no room for lies now, what had Rhett told her once, the truth shall set ye free, now it was time at last to crack open her secret self filled with her doubts and shames, her defeats and mistakes. "I thought I did."

"You don't love him any longer, do you," asked Miss Eleanor gently.

"No, not for a long, long time, if ever at all."

"Does Rhett know that?"

Scarlett nodded as she twisted a piece of her quilt nervously.

Miss Eleanor took Scarlett's hands and loosed her fingers from the quilt before beginning to speak again. She wanted Scarlett's full attention for the secret she was about to divulge. Scarlett seemed to hurt so badly, she was trying to live up to the example of her mother and considering the scandal that Ellen had left behind in Savannah years ago maybe she needed to know that she wasn't alone in not always being able to live up to society's standards of behavior. To use Ellen as an example though might anger Scarlett, but perhaps another example could be used…

"I…I once loved a man I shouldn't have. I knew that I could never hope to have him for a husband, but I loved him just the same. He was an older man, much older than myself," she looked out of the corner of her eye at Scarlett.

"What was his name?" asked Scarlett curiously.

Knowing that this conversation might help Scarlett chart a clearer course through her relationship with Rhett she whispered the name of a man she had adored but could never have. "Pierre."

"Just like my grandfather Robiliard," laughed Scarlett.

"Not just like."